Alfa Pendular
Encyclopedia
Pendolino
Pendolino is an Italian family of tilting trains used in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, Russian Federation, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Slovakia, Switzerland, China and shortly in Romania and Poland...
high-speed tilting train
Tilting train
A tilting train is a train that has a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular rail tracks. As a train rounds a curve at speed, objects inside the train experience centrifugal force. This can cause packages to slide about or seated passengers to feel squashed by the outboard armrest due to...
of Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
state railway company CP
Comboios de Portugal
thumb|250px|right|CP suburban trains at São Bento Station in Oporto.CP — Comboios de Portugal, EPE is a state-owned company which operates freight and passenger trains in Portugal...
. It connects the cities of Braga, Porto, Aveiro, Coimbra, Santarém, Lisbon, Albufeira and Faro, among others at speeds of up to 220 kilometres per hour (137 mph).
The trains were assembled by ADtranz
Adtranz
ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation , commonly known under its brand Adtranz, was a multi-national rail transport equipment manufacturer with facilities concentrated in Europe and the USA....
at the Portuguese Amadora plant, on a tri-companies relation with Fiat-Ferroviaria as main contractor, ADtranz
Adtranz
ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation , commonly known under its brand Adtranz, was a multi-national rail transport equipment manufacturer with facilities concentrated in Europe and the USA....
and Siemens as main subcontractors.
Description
The Alfa Pendular high speed trainHigh Speed Train
There are three types of trains in Britain that have been traditionally viewed as high speed trains:* Advanced Passenger Train - Tilting trains which never entered into regular revenue-earning service....
is a six car electric multiple unit
Electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
(EMU), which is derived from and closely resembles the Giugiaro designed Italian Fiat-Ferroviaria ETR 480
ETR 480
The ETR 480 is a tilting Electric Multiple Unit built by FIAT Ferroviaria since 1993, It is also known as Pendolino. It was developed from the first new-generation Pendolino, the ETR 460...
Pendolino
Pendolino
Pendolino is an Italian family of tilting trains used in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, Russian Federation, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Slovakia, Switzerland, China and shortly in Romania and Poland...
train.
The bogies had to be redesigned to operate on Portugal's Iberian gauge
Iberian gauge
Iberian gauge is the name given to the track gauge most extensively used by the railways of Spain and Portugal: namely ....
track.
There are 8 traction motors, installed on all but the two middle vehicles of the train, developing 4 MW. This M-M-T-T-M-M arrangement spreads the weight of the train, giving a lightweight of only 13.5 tonnes (13.3 LT) per axle, which helps its cornering ability at high speed.
During brake tests with software protections removed, a top speed of 236.6 km/h (147 mph) was reached close to Oriente Station in Lisbon.
Tilting technology
Its tilting trainTilting train
A tilting train is a train that has a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular rail tracks. As a train rounds a curve at speed, objects inside the train experience centrifugal force. This can cause packages to slide about or seated passengers to feel squashed by the outboard armrest due to...
technology, with a maximum tilt angle of 8°, allows the train to negotiate curves at higher speeds than conventional trains. The combination of the resulting high cornering velocity and the tilting movement of the carriages helps ensure a dynamic experience.
The hydraulic tilting system is governed by two gyroscopes in the head cars. The curve is found on the base of the elevation of the external track.
The use of this train does not demand particular modifications to the existing rail network, but it is expensive in terms of maintenance of the rolling stock because of the complexity of the tilting system.
Stations
The alphabetical list of stations served by the Alfa Pendular is as follows:- AlbufeiraAlbufeiraAlbufeira is a Portuguese municipality in the Faro District, Algarve region. Its name came from the Arabic: البحيرة . The city has a population of 13,646. The municipality has a population of 35,281 inhabitants and a total area of 140.6 km²...
- Aveiro
- BragaBragaBraga , a city in the Braga Municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the Braga District, the oldest archdiocese and the third major city of the country. Braga is the oldest Portuguese city and one of the oldest Christian cities in the World...
- CoimbraCoimbraCoimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...
-B - EntrecamposEntrecamposPraça de Entrecampos is a plaza in Lisbon, Portugal. "Entrecampos" means "between the fields" in Portuguese. Entrecampos is located between Campo Grande and Campo Pequeno ....
(Lisbon) - EntroncamentoEntroncamentoEntroncamento is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 13.8 km² and a total population of 21,751 inhabitantsThe municipality is composed of 2 civil parishes, contains an important railway junction, and is located in Santarém District....
- FamalicãoFamalicão-Places:* Famalicão , a civil parish in the municipality of Guarda* Famalicão , a civil parish in the municipality of Nazaré* Vila Nova de Famalicão, a municipality in the district of Braga-Others:...
- FaroFaro, PortugalFaro is the southernmost city in Portugal. It is located in the Faro Municipality in southern Portugal. The city proper has 41,934 inhabitants and the entire municipality has 58,305. It is the seat of the Faro District and capital of the Algarve region...
- Lisboa-Oriente
- Lisboa-Santa Apolónia
- LouléLouléLoulé is a city and a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 764.2 km² and a total population of 62,295 inhabitants. The city proper has a population of 12,103.The municipality is composed of 11 parishes, and is located in the District of Faro....
- Pinhal NovoPinhal NovoPinhal Novo is a town in Portugal with 26,000 inhabitants situated in the Setúbal Peninsula halfway between Lisbon and Setúbal. It is served by two highways connecting Lisbon to the South and by its new train station that has enabled residents to connect directly to Lisbon's subway network in 30...
- PombalPombal, PortugalPombal is a town in Pombal Municipality, Portugal. The population of the city is about 16.000 inhabitants....
- PortoPortoPorto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
-Campanhã - SantarémSantarém, PortugalSantarém is a city in the Santarém Municipality in Portugal. The city itself has a population of 28,760 and the entire municipality has 64,124 inhabitants.It is the capital of Santarém District....
- TunesTunes (Silves)Tunes is a Portuguese Parish in the Municipality of Silves. The village is east of Silves and is south south east of Lisbon. It has an area of 12.13 km², has a population of ca...
- Vila Nova de GaiaVila Nova de GaiaVila Nova de Gaia, or simply Gaia is a city in Vila Nova de Gaia Municipality, Portugal. It is located in the Porto District, south of the city of Porto on the other side of the Douro River. The city proper has a population of 178,255 and the municipality contains 24 parishes with a total...